From Aparna Krishnamoorthy. Email her at aparna[AT]borderstan.com. Follow her on Twitter @aparnakris.

I like my eggs scrambled, poached, over-easy, as an omelet, with a runny yolk, boiled and every which way possible. You get it, I love eggs. But then, I see this thing called a 64-degree egg popping up on some menus. Or in some cases a 63-degree egg. Huh? Say what?

What is a 64-degree egg? A 64-degree egg is an egg slow cooked in the shell in a water bath of 64 degrees Celsius. (For those of you who don’t remember Celsius to Fahrenheit conversion, that’s approximately 147 degrees Fahrenheit).

What’s the big deal, you say? According to this experiment, cooking eggs at slightly different temperatures in a water bath makes a huge difference. A 64-degree egg has a custard-like white and somewhat solid yolk. With a 63-degree egg, the whites are a bit runnier although still custard-like and the egg yolks are gooey and rich, but fully cooked.

The 64-Degree Egg Recipe

1. Place an egg in a 64 degree C water bath for 45 minutes.
2. Monitor the temperature constantly – and adjust the water bath by adding hot water if the temperature drops, or scooping out water if it rises. Keeping the lid on helps conserve heat.
3. Once the eggs are ready, crack the shell and remove it under a water bath to prevent stress to the delicate egg.
4. Use a spoon to remove the egg
5. Enjoy atop a sandwich, break it into a salad or pasta!

Disclaimer: If your thermometer is off by a few degrees, the perfect egg might be elusive.

If you want to read about the science behind the 64-degree egg, go on here. For you handy DIY types, build your own cooking apparatus. Does that seem like too much work? No problem! Head over to Drafting Table instead, where they will top anything on their menu with the perfect 64-degree egg.

To me, an egg is an egg, 63 degrees or 64 degrees. But maybe that’s just me. Does the 64 degree egg fascinate you?

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